Bucknell Pulls out One-Goal Win vs. Holy Cross on Senior Day

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Bucknell Seniors Madison Hurwitz, Adrienne Wendling and Ryan Wenk were honored prior to the game in Senior Day ceremonies, and then each of them went out and played starring roles in an emotional 10-9 victory over Holy Cross at chilly Graham Field Saturday afternoon.

Hurwitz controlled the offense from behind the cage and logged a goal and four assists. Wenk added two goals and two assists, and Wendling scored the team's first two goals of the day to erase an early 2-0 deficit.

The senior trio helped Bucknell snap a 26-game losing streak against Patriot League opposition. The last conference win was a 12-11 decision over Holy Cross at Graham Field on March 28, 2009.

Bucknell showed some major perseverence in this one, as the Crusaders kept erasing Bison leads. Holy Cross scored twice in the first 65 seconds of the game and nearly made it 3-0, but Caroline O'Neill robbed Laura Ryan on a free-position shot.

O'Neill's save gave Bucknell its first possession of the day, and they cashed in when Wenk found Wendling in transition to make it 2-1. Almost four minutes later Wendling was stopped by Sarah Weber from point-blank range, but Wendling scooped up her own rebound and popped it back in the net to tie it at 2-2.

Bucknell stretched the run to 4-0 and the lead to 4-2 on goals by Sophie Kleinert and Miller. Holy Cross responded with consecutive goals by Taylor Zebrowski and Ryan, but Wenk capped off a five-minute Bucknell possession with a goal off a Hurwitz feed with 3:29 left, and the Bison took a 5-4 lead to the locker room.

Ryan tied it 5:24 into the second half, and then Bucknell got a bad break on the ensuing draw control. The ball squirted loose near the Bison bench and was clearly kicked out of bounds by a Holy Cross player. But the officials could not decide who had the last touch and went to a jump ball. Holy Cross won possession on a foul, and then scored the go-ahead goal after another foul, with Maddie Carrellas finishing a free-position attempt.

But Bucknell shook off that blow, scoring three straight times to take the lead right back. Hurwitz set up the first two, picking out Miller and Cori Thielemann on similar plays from behind the goal. Bucknell won the draw after the Thielemann goal but was scrambling a bit as Holy Cross picked up the defensive pressure. Eventually Wendling found some space and hit Wenk in the slot, and Wenk ripped the net with a hard shot that gave Bucknell an 8-6 lead with 16:36 to play.

Kat Sutton scored on a free-position shot -- one of five goals scored by Holy Cross from the 8-meter arc on the day -- and then a Weber save set up Zebrowski's tying goal with 12:35 left. O'Neill read a pass from Zebrowski and jumped out of the goal crease looking for a steal, but Zebrowski held on to the ball, then shot it into the empty net.

Bucknell called timeout, and then Caroline Collins earned the draw control to get the Bison a big possession. Hurwitz could not connect on two interior feeds, and then she bolted out to the left side of the cage and scored herself to give the Bison the lead back for good with 11:05 to play.

Miller won the next draw and then fired a shot off the post. Wenk kept possession for Bucknell, then fed Thielemann who cut in from the right side for her second of the day and a 10-8 Bison lead with 8:29 to play.

Collins collected yet another draw, her game-high fourth of the day, but Sam Rickels had a shot saved by Weber with 6:30 remaining. That led to another free-position goal for Sutton, and it was a 10-9 game with 5:47 left.